


The Simple Moments

by Titti



Category: Numb3rs
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-02-13
Updated: 2005-02-13
Packaged: 2017-12-15 20:37:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/853802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Titti/pseuds/Titti
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Don and Charlie discuss their best dates.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Simple Moments

Don had just got home after a long day at work. His gun was secured away in his bedroom. Then he put his jacket away, took his tie off and hung it. His still shiny shoes went into the closet. All very methodical, and his way to shed the horrors of his job, not that anyone knew that. He was ready to settle in front of the TV, when the doorbell rang. He walked barefoot through his living room, and opened the door.

"Terry said you went home, and hadn't had dinner yet, so I brought Chinese food," Charlie said, as he walked inside.

Don frowned. "You remembered food?"

"Very funny. I do remember from time to time." Charlie put the food on the coffee table, before turning to his brother. He ducked his head, and smiled. "All right, dad has a date, and he suggested that I eat dinner here."

"Ah, now that I believe." Don took Charlie's face in his hands, and pressed his lips against Charlie's. "God, it's good to have you here," he murmured.

"Bad day?" Charlie asked, his hands already busy unbuttoning Don's shirt.

"Extremely bad day." Don covered Charlie's hands with his. "Don't start, or we won't eat." He kissed his brother's forehead. "Let me grab something to drink."

Charlie nodded. Charlie knew that there was no point in pushing, not when Don got into mother hen's mood, when he had to make sure that Charlie ate right, slept enough. With time, Charlie had learned that the more Don worried, the worse his day had been, so he went along, opening the boxes and settling on the couch with his meal.

Don returned with a beer for him, and soda for Charlie, like always, before plucking down the couch, reaching for the closed Styrofoam box, and dived in, eating faster than it was healthy, until he stopped with a sigh. "God, I didn't know how hungry I was."

"I'm surprised you haven't choked. Eating requires chewing, just so you know," Charlie pointed out with a grin.

He put down the food and grabbed his beer. "Funny, very funny. Try going the entire day with coffee and doughnuts."

Charlie frowned. "You mean that's not what I'm supposed to eat all day long?" Then, he smiled again. "You know dad and I were talking about dates..."

Don raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"He told me about your best date, very interesting," Charlie said matter of fact. "I didn't know you and Terry were together."

Don flinched. He knew better than to share personal information with their father, because it always had a way to come back and bite him in the ass. "It was a long time ago, at the academy, before...you know."

"No, I don't know, because you never told me." His tone still calm as if this wasn't affecting him in any way, but Don knew better.

"There was nothing to tell. It was for a brief time, before you and I..."

Charlie raised his gaze, staring at Don. "You can't say it, can you? Before we had sex, started fucking, had a relationship."

Don took the food away from Charlie, and rested it on the coffee table. Grabbing Charlie's ankles, he pushed his brother down the couch before blanketing Charlie's body with his. "Before we got together, happy now?"

Charlie nodded, but remained pensive. "So, your best date was with Terry..."

"God, no, but what did you expect me to say, ah?" Don rested his forehead against Charlie's, while his hand slid up and down Charlie's arm. "It's not like I could tell Dad about us."

Charlie let out a breath, and relaxed. He spread his legs, one sliding off the couch, as Don settled between them. Charlie started to kiss Don's jaw. "If you could tell Dad, what would be your best date? The one you'll never forget."

Don propped himself on his elbow, while brushing Charlie's hair with his free hand. "That's easy. Remember when I finally moved in." He chuckled. "I still remember the boxes everywhere. It was a mess."

"Not a great date from the sound of it." Charlie's fingers traced Don's spine as he spoke. "So what happened next?"

Don had to smile at that. Charlie was trying to flirt, and doing a horrible job at it, but it was the thought that counted, and those fingers...they weren't doing too bad either. "If I remember, this guy, a few years younger than me, messy hair, white chalk on his hands, his name is Charlie. Well, he showed up here with..." He turned and looked at the coffee table. "Chinese food. He decided that we should celebrate."

"It was nice, wasn't it?" Charlie's voice changed; it filled with love and tenderness.

"Yes, the first time you stayed over."

"The first time you lived alone. I don't think your roommates would have understood," Charlie answered.

"I know. Still, it was nice having you here. House was a freaking mess, and we ended up eating on a rug." Don smiled at the memory. "Not really the most comfortable."

"I had no complaints. Chinese food, candles, and you making love to me, what else could I have asked for?"

Don laughed. "A bed, to start."

"Nah, it was fine." Charlie grinned back. "But I can complain now. You're heavy; must be all those doughnuts."

"Now, he complains." But Don shifted, and lay on his side, his back against the couch, and Charlie snuggled against his chest. He slid his leg over Charlie, and his pants were going to be a mess when he got up, but he didn't care. Suddenly, he needed to be as close to Charlie as he could. "What's your best date?" he whispered in Charlie's ear.

Charlie paused for a moment, squeezing Don's hand. "Two months after Mom died," he started, softly. "I know you were still upset with me, for not being there, for hiding, but you forced me to go out. We went for hamburgers, nothing big. There were people around, but you kept brushing your hand against mine, and that's when I knew..." Charlie turned his head. "I knew that no matter how upset you'd get, you would always be here to help me, to protect me." He raised a shoulder in a shrug. "You'd be here."

"Of course I would." Don pressed his lips against Charlie's shoulder, hating that they were still dressed. "You're my brother," he said softly.

Charlie rolled around, and faced Don. "Is that all I am?"

Don frowned, taken aback by Charlie's insistence. Was this because of Terry? He didn't know, and it didn't matter, because when he answered, he was telling the truth. "No, of course not."

"Then what am I, Don? Tell me." Charlie didn't say please, but Don heard it clearly.

Don brushed Charlie's hair, and smiled. "You're my brother, my lover, the man who drives me insane with his numbers, the genius that will always know more than me, the one I'll always protect-"

It wasn't a declaration, but much better, it was the sum of who they were, and they both knew it. Charlie put a finger to Don's lips. "We have a bed now."

"I knew you were a genius." Don got up, and pulled Charlie with him into the bedroom.


End file.
